Method for assembling/dismounting components of a wind power plant

ABSTRACT

A wind power installation having at least one cable passage means for passing through a hauling cable from a winch and a method of fitting/removing components of a wind power installation comprising laying a hauling cable from the winch to at least one deflection roller and further to the component to be fitted/removed, attaching the hauling cable to the component, and releasing and letting down or pulling up and fixing the component.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns a wind power installation and a systemand method of fitting/removing components of a wind power installation.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wind power installations have long been known. The considerabledimensions and weights of modern installations means that on the onehand components frequently have to be transported individually to thebuilding site. There the components are then fitted together. In thatrespect in the meantime loads of 50 tons and more certainly have to belifted.

On the other hand loads also have to be lifted to a considerable heightof over 100 meters. Admittedly winches are known in wind powerinstallations, but those winches are mostly disposed in the rear part ofthe pod of the wind power installation.

In addition a load-lifting apparatus on a wind power installation isknown from WO 96/10130. In that known load-lifting apparatus, a winch isarranged on a machine frame. A hauling cable passes from the winch byway of a pivotable linkage. Such a load-lifting apparatus is provided onany wind power installation. In that respect the size of theload-lifting apparatus provided on any wind power installation isdependent on the required carrying capacity and therefore increases withthe size of the wind power installation or with the weight of thecomponents thereof.

Alternatively, as will be appreciated, lifting operations are possibleusing appropriately large cranes with a suitable load-bearing capacity,which once again can only be provided at a high level of complicationand expenditure. As the expenditure involved in operating such a crane,that is to say dismantling it, operating it and again setting it up, isconsiderable, the crane generally remains on a wind power installationuntil the erection of the installation has progressed to such a degreethat the crane is no longer required there. It is only then that thecrane is transported to the next building site. In that respect thedistance between those building sites represents a secondaryconsideration for the working operations required for relocating a cranealways have to be carried out, irrespective of whether it is relocatedonly by some hundred meters or by some hundred kilometers.

It will be appreciated that the replacement of components of a windpower installation such as for example the rotor blades also requires acrane which has to be transported, with attendant expenditure.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a wind power installation of the kind set forth in theopening part of this specification comprises at least one deflectionroller and at least one cable passage in the region of the pylon headfor passing therethrough a hauling cable from a winch.

In another aspect, a method of fitting/removing components of a windpower installation comprises:

laying a hauling cable from the winch to at least one deflection rollerin the region of the pylon head and further to the component beingfitted/removed,

attaching the hauling cable to the component, and

releasing and letting down or pulling up and fixing the component.

One embodiment is based on the realization that at least a part of thecomponents of a wind power installation can be fitted or replaced evenwithout the aid of a crane if a suitable lifting apparatus is available.The solution according to one embodiment avoids expensive andcomplicated additional installations on any wind power installation.Nonetheless a versatile lifting apparatus is quickly available at lowcost.

In another aspect, the winch which is already present in the rear partof the pod can also be used in the front region of the pod without theposition of the winch within the pod having to be altered.

In another aspect a system comprises a cable passage means in the podfor passing therethrough a hauling cable from a winch at the base of thewind power installation. In that way it is possible to use asufficiently strong winch with a sufficiently load-bearing hauling cablefor lifting and lowering heavy components so that even such componentscan be fitted or replaced without the use of a crane. It is accordinglycompletely sufficient for the winch to be transported to the wind powerinstallation, for its hauling cable to be pulled up into the pod withthe winch present in the wind power installation, for the hauling cableto be there laid over the deflection roller or rollers, and for thecorresponding fitting/removal procedures to be carried out. In thatrespect the expense involved in transporting a winch is naturallyconsiderably lower than that involved in transporting a sufficientlypowerful and in particular sufficiently large crane.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a holdingarrangement for an additional winch, the holding arrangement beingfixedly connected to the foundation. That also already attains theobject of reliably anchoring that winch in a simple fashion so that thewinch can be correspondingly quickly used when it has arrived at itsdestination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are set forth in theappendant claims.

The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter with referenceto the Figures in which:

FIG. 1 shows a wind power installation having a winch arranged at thebase of the pylon,

FIG. 2 shows a simplified view in cross-section of the pod with a firstembodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 3 shows a simplified view in cross-section of the pod with a secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a wind power installation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 a pylon 10 of a wind power installation is anchored on afoundation 12. Disposed at the tip of the pylon 10 is a pod 14 to whicha first rotor blade 16 is fixed.

At the base of the pylon 10 a winch 18 is also anchored on thefoundation 12. A hauling cable 20 extends from the winch 18 at the rearside of the pylon 10 (for viewing this the front side and the rear sideof the pylon 10 are those sides at which the corresponding portions ofthe pod 14 are disposed) to the pod 14, it passes through the pod andissues from the pod 14 again at a fitting opening provided for a secondrotor blade 17 and extends downwardly to the rotor blade 17 which isfixed to that hauling cable and which is pulled up or let down towardsthe ground by the winch. Illustrated at the second rotor blade 17 is anarrow 21 which symbolizes the use of a guide cable 21. The use of aguide cable 21 makes it possible for the rotor blade 17 to be guided ina suitable fashion so that it cannot unintentionally strike against thepylon 10. In addition such a guide cable 21 can ensure that, when it isbeing let down, the rotor blade 17 is not set down with its tip on theground and suffers damage, but it can be pulled in the direction of thearrow and can thus be guided into a horizontal position.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified view in cross-section of the pod 14. ThisFigure shows the head portion of the pylon 10. Disposed on that headportion of the pylon 10 is a machine carrier 26 which carries the statorcarrier 28 with the stator 30. The machine carrier 26 also carries ashaft trunnion 32. Rotatably mounted on the shaft trunnion 32 is therotor having the rotor blades 16, 17 and the rotor member 30 of thegenerator.

Disposed at the side of the machine carrier 26, which is remote from thestator carrier 28, is a winch 22 which is already provided as standardin most wind power installations. Also provided there are holding bars25, with a first deflection roller 24 being provided at the ends of theholding bars 25, which are remote from the machine carrier 26. A seconddeflection roller 34 is disposed within the shaft trunnion 32.

The Figure also illustrates the hauling cable 20 which passes into thepod 14 at the rear side. In this case the passage opening 35 for thathauling cable 20 can also be a closable opening which is provided in anycase beneath the winch 22 in the bottom of the pod 14.

After passing into the pod 14 the hauling cable 20 passes over the firstdeflection roller 24 through a second cable passage means 36 (the firstcable passage means as illustrated in FIG. 2 is accordingly the passageopening 35 in the bottom of the pod 14), through a third cable passagemeans 37 to the deflection roller 34 and from there to a fourth cablepassage means 38 in the shaft trunnion 32, for example to the rotorblade 17 which is to be moved.

Pulling up the hauling cable 20 or letting it down on the way betweenthe pod 14 and the winch 18 on the foundation 12 of the pylon 10 can beassisted by the winch 22.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention. The components inFIG. 3 are denoted by the same references as those in FIG. 2. Onedifference in relation to the first embodiment of the invention as shownin FIG. 2 is that in the embodiment of FIG. 3 the cable of the winch 22which is provided in any case in the wind power installation is used asthe hauling cable 20. The carrying capacity of that winch is admittedlylimited, but nonetheless it is possible to lift components of relativelylow weight, for example through the rotor blade opening, into the frontpart of the pod 14. Mention may be made here by way of example of apitch motor (not shown), that is to say a motor which serves to adjust arotor blade. Otherwise that motor would have to be lifted into the rearpart of the pod 14 and from there transported into the front part, in acomplicated procedure. That naturally presupposes that the rotor bladeopening is open and is not closed off by a rotor blade.

As can be clearly seen from FIG. 3, the cable run passes from the winch22 by way of the first deflection roller 24, through the second cablepassage means 36, the third cable passage means 37, by way of the seconddeflection roller 34 and through the fourth cable passage means 38.

In an alternative embodiment, a cable guide means or deflection rollercan be arranged above the head portion of the pylon 10 so that the cable20 can then be let down into the interior of the pylon 10 or pulled upout of same. In that way also loads within the pylon 10, in particularin the region of the base of the pylon 10, for example power cabinets,transformers, etc can be raised or lowered if required by way of thecable 20, which is advantageous if those parts have to be moved out ofthe base region of the pylon, which is usually effected by way of sidedoors in the pylon 10 which however are not all at the level of thecomponent in question which is to be replaced.

Instead of a simple deflection roller, it is also possible to provideany other kind of cable guide means in which the cable can be guided.For example, any suitable cable guide can be employed to guide the cable20 into the pylon 10 through the machine carrier 26.

A further alternative can also provide that the winch 18 itself is notdisposed outside the pylon 10 but within the pylon 10 in the region ofthe base thereof. Then the hauling cable 20 is always disposed in aprotected condition within the installation and raising and lowering ofcargo is possible at a plurality of locations, on the one hand in theregion of the rear of the pod (by way of the deflection roller 24), at afurther location in the region of the hub 19 (by way of the roller 38),and it is also possible to lower components within the pylon 10.

It is also possible to provide a further deflection roller (in themanner of the roller 38) which is disposed in the region of the hub tip40 so that the cable 20 can be guided out of the hub 19 of the windpower installation past the rotor blades. In that way loads can then belifted from the ground into the region of the rotor hub, morespecifically also past the rotor blades. If that load is for example aworking platform, it is possible for the personnel to move up and downdirectly at the rotor blades on the outside in order to inspect therotor blades or if necessary to carry out service or cleaningprocedures.

It will be appreciated that where necessary, further cable guide ordeflection rollers can be provided within the machine carrier 26, thepylon 10, the pod 14 or the hub 19 of the pod 14, without that needingto be particularly mentioned at this juncture.

If a winch which is disposed at the base of the wind power installationis used, that also does not necessarily have to be fixedly connected tothe foundation of the wind power installation, but can also be mountedin an open condition to a transport vehicle (omitted from the figuresfor ease of illustration) and can be connected thereto so that highlyflexible use of the winch is possible. It is also possible for the winchto be fixed on a support frame structure so that a sufficiently greatcounterweight is provided when desired.

FIG. 4 illustrates a wind power installation 100 having a pylon 10having a head 102. A vehicle 104 has a winch 106 mounted to it. Thevehicle 104 is positioned so that the winch 106 is outside the pylon 10.A cable 112 is coupled to the winch 106, passes through a first cablepassage means 114, a second cable passage means 116, which is locatedabove the head 102 of the pylon 10, and a third cable passage means 118.The cable 112 may be used to raise and lower an object inside the pylon10, such as a component of the wind power installation 120.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A wind power installation comprising: a pylon having a head; a winch;at least one deflection roller; at least one cable passage means in theregion of the pylon head for passing therethrough a hauling cable fromthe winch, wherein the winch is mounted on a vehicle at the base of thewind power installation, without using a crane separate from the pylonto support the winch; a pod, wherein the at least one cable passagemeans is in the pod and is configured to pass through the hauling cablefrom the winch at the base of the wind power installation; and aplurality of holding bars rigidly positioned in a rear portion of thepod, the holding bars supporting the at least one deflection rollerwithin an interior space of the rear portion of the pod to guide thehauling cable.
 2. A wind power installation as set forth in claim 1,further comprising a holding arrangement fixedly connected to afoundation, for an additional winch.
 3. A wind power installation as setforth in claim 1, further comprising a second cable passage meansdisposed above the pylon head and configured to facilitate raising andlowering components of the wind power installation within the pylon. 4.A method of fitting/removing components of a wind power installationcomprising: transporting a winch mounted on a transport vehicle to abase of the wind power installation; laying a hauling cable from thewinch to at least one deflection roller in a pod that is coupled to apylon head of the wind power installation, the at least one deflectionroller supported by a plurality of holding bars rigidly positioned in arear portion of the pod within an interior space of the rear portion ofthe pod to guide the hauling cable to a component to be fitted/removed;attaching the hauling cable to the component; and releasing and lettingdown or pulling up and fixing the component.
 5. A method as set forth inclaim 4 further comprising placing a second winch at the base of thewind power installation.
 6. The wind power installation as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the at least one deflection roller is positioned toguide the hauling cable through at least one bearing that rotatablysupports a rotor of the wind power installation toward a component to befitted/removed.
 7. The wind power installation as set forth in claim 6,wherein the pod includes a blade mount opening, and further comprising acable guide in the pod positioned to guide the hauling cable toward theblade mount opening after the cable passes through the at least onebearing.
 8. A wind power installation comprising: a pylon; a pod coupledto an upper end of the pylon, the pod including an opening for passingtherethrough a hauling cable from a winch positioned at the base of thewind power installation; at least one deflection roller; and a pluralityof holding bars rigidly positioned in a rear portion of the pod, theholding bars supporting the at least one deflection roller within aninterior space of the rear portion of the pod to guide the haulingcable.